In recent years, efforts have been made to develop hot-rolled high-strength steel sheets excellent in press formability in order to meet the increasing needs for car weight reductions as means to improve automotive fuel efficiency as well as for integral forming as a means to cut down production costs. Dual-phase steel sheets comprising ferritic and martensitic structures have, conventionally, been known as hot-rolled steel sheets for forming.
Being made up of a composite structure comprising a soft ferrite phase and a hard martensite phase, dual-phase steel sheets are inferior in hole-expandability because voids develop from the interface between the two phases of significantly different hardnesses and, therefore, they are unfit for uses that demand high hole-expandability, such as suspension members.
In comparison, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 4-88125 and No. 3-180426 propose methods for manufacturing hot-rolled steel sheets primarily comprising bainite and, thus, having excellent hole-expandability. However, the steel sheets manufactured by the proposed methods are limited in applicability because of inferior ductility.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 6-293910, No. 2002-180188, No. 2002-180189 and No. 2002-180190 propose steel sheets comprising mixed structures of ferrite and bainite and having compatible hole-expandability and ductility. However, needs for greater car weight reduction and more complicated parts and members demand still greater hole-expandability, higher workability and greater strength than can be provided by the proposed technologies.
The inventors discovered that the condition of cracks in punched holes is important for the improvement of hole-expandability without an accompanying deterioration of ductility, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2001-342543 and No. 2002-20838. That is to say, the inventors discovered that particle size refinement of (Ti, Nb)N produces fine uniform voids in the cross section of punched holes, relieves stress concentration during the time when the hole is expanded and thereby improves hole-expandability.
The discoveries included the use of Mg-oxides as a means for accomplishing the particle size refinement of (Ti, Nb)N. However, the proposed technology, which controls only oxides, does not provide adequate effect because the degree of freedom in the control of oxygen is low, the total volume of oxygen available is small because free oxygen after deoxidation is used, and, therefore, the desired degree of dispersion has been difficult to obtain.